Sec. 1. Short title.

Section 5.

This Act may be cited as the Health Care Right of Conscience Act.
(Source: P.A. 90-246, eff. 1-1-98.) (745 ILCS 70/2)

The Health Care Right of Conscience Act is amended by changing
Sections 2, 3, 6, and 9 and by adding Sections 6.1 and 6.2 as
follows:

Sec. 2. Findings and policy.

The General Assembly finds and declares that people and organizations
hold different beliefs about whether certain health care services are
morally acceptable. It is the public policy of the State of Illinois to
respect and protect the right of conscience of all persons who refuse to
obtain, receive or accept, or who are engaged in, the delivery of,
arrangement for, or payment of health care services and medical care whether
acting individually, corporately, or in association with other persons; and
to prohibit all forms of discrimination, disqualification, coercion,
disability or imposition of liability upon such persons or entities by
reason of their refusing to act contrary to their conscience or
conscientious convictions in refusing to obtain, receive, accept, deliver,
pay for, or arrange for the payment of health care services and medical
care. (Source: P.A. 90-246, eff. 1-1-98.) (745 ILCS 70/3)

Sec. 2. Findings and policy.

The General Assembly finds and declares that people and
organizations hold different beliefs about whether certain health
care services are morally acceptable. It is the public policy of the
State of Illinois to respect and protect the right of conscience of
all persons who refuse to obtain, receive or accept, or who are
engaged in, the delivery of, arrangement for, or payment of health
care services and medical care whether acting individually,
corporately, or in association with other persons; and to prohibit
all forms of discrimination, disqualification, coercion, disability
or imposition of liability upon such persons or entities by reason
of their refusing to act contrary to their conscience or
conscientious convictions in providing,
paying for, or refusing to obtain, receive, accept, deliver,
pay for, or arrange for the payment of health care services and
medical care. It is also the public policy
of the State of Illinois to ensure that patients receive timely
access to information and medically appropriate care.(Source:
P.A. 90-246, eff. 1-1-98.)

Sec. 3. Definitions.

(745 ILCS 70/3) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par.
5303)Sec. 3. Definitions.

As used in this Act, unless the context clearly otherwise requires:

As used in this Act, unless the context clearly otherwise
requires:

(a) "Health care" means any phase of patient care, including but
not limited to, testing; diagnosis; prognosis; ancillary research;
instructions; family planning, counselling, referrals, or any other advice
in connection with the use or procurement of contraceptives and
sterilization or abortion procedures; medication; or surgery or other care
or treatment rendered by a physician or physicians, nurses,
paraprofessionals or health care facility, intended for the physical,
emotional, and mental well-being of persons;

(a) "Health care" means any phase of patient care, including but
not limited to, testing; diagnosis; prognosis; ancillary research;
instructions; family planning, counselling, referrals, or any other
advice in connection with the use or procurement of contraceptives
and sterilization or abortion procedures; medication; or surgery or
other care or treatment rendered by a physician or physicians,
nurses, paraprofessionals or health care facility, intended for the
physical, emotional, and mental well-being of persons;

(b) "Physician" means any person who is licensed by the State of
Illinois under the Medical Practice Act of 1987;

(b) "Physician" means any person who is licensed by the State of
Illinois under the Medical Practice Act of 1987;

(c) "Health care personnel" means any nurse, nurses' aide, medical
school student, professional, paraprofessional or any other person who
furnishes, or assists in the furnishing of, health care services;

(c) "Health care personnel" means any nurse, nurses' aide,
medical school student, professional, paraprofessional or any other
person who furnishes, or assists in the furnishing of, health care
services;

(e) "Conscience" means a sincerely held set of moral convictions
arising from belief in and relation to God, or which, though not so derived,
arises from a place in the life of its possessor parallel to that filled by
God among adherents to religious faiths; and

(e) "Conscience" means a sincerely held set of moral convictions
arising from belief in and relation to God, or which, though not so
derived, arises from a place in the life of its possessor
parallel to that filled by God among adherents to religious faiths;
and

(f) "Health care payer" means a health maintenance organization,
insurance company, management services organization, or any other entity
that pays for or arranges for the payment of any health care or medical care
service, procedure, or product.

(f) "Health care payer" means a health maintenance organization,
insurance company, management services organization, or any other
entity that pays for or arranges for the payment of any health
care or medical care service, procedure, or product;
and

The above definitions include not only the
traditional combinations and forms of these persons and organizations but
also all new and emerging forms and combinations of these persons and
organizations. (Source: P.A. 90-246, eff. 1-1-98.) (745 ILCS 70/4)

The above definitions include not only the traditional
combinations and forms of these persons and organizations but also
all new and emerging forms and combinations of these persons and
organizations.(Source: P.A. 90-246, eff. 1-1-98.)

Sec. 6. Duty of physicians and other health care personnel.

Nothing in this Act shall relieve a physician from any duty, which may
exist under any laws concerning current standards, of normal medical
practices and procedures, to inform his or her patient of the patient's
condition, prognosis and risks, provided, however, that such physician shall
be under no duty to perform, assist, counsel, suggest, recommend, refer or
participate in any way in any form of medical practice or health care
service that is contrary to his or her conscience.

Nothing in this Act shall
be construed so as to relieve a physician or other health care personnel
from obligations under the law of providing emergency medical care. (Source:
P.A. 90-246, eff. 1-1-98.) (745 ILCS 70/7)

Nothing in this Act shall relieve a physician from any duty,
which may exist under any laws concerning current standards, of
normal medical
practice or care
practices and procedures, to
inform his or her patient of the patient's condition, prognosis,legal treatment options, and risks
and benefits of treatment options, provided, however, that
such physician shall be under no duty to perform, assist, counsel,
suggest, recommend, refer or participate in any way in any form of
medical practice or health care service that is contrary to his or
her conscience.

Nothing in this Act shall be construed so as to relieve a
physician or other health care personnel from obligations under the
law of providing emergency medical care.(Source: P.A. 90-246,
eff. 1-1-98.)

All health care facilities shall adopt
written access to care and information protocols that are designed
to ensure that conscience-based objections do not cause impairment
of patients' health and that explain how conscience-based objections
will be addressed in a timely manner to facilitate patient health
care services. The protections of Sections 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11
of this Act only apply if conscience-based refusals occur in
accordance with these protocols. These protocols must, at a minimum,
address the following:

(1) The health care facility, physician, or
health care personnel shall inform a patient of the patient's
condition, prognosis, legal treatment options, and risks and
benefits of the treatment options in a timely manner, consistent
with current standards of medical practice or care.

(2) When a health
care facility, physician, or health care personnel is unable to
permit, perform, or participate in a health care service that is a
diagnostic or treatmentoption requested by a patient because the
health care service is contrary to the conscience of the health care
facility, physician, or health care personnel, then the patient
shall either be provided the requested health care service by others
in the facility or be notified that the health care will not be provided and be
referred, transferred, or given information in accordance with
paragraph 3.

(3) If requested by the patient or the legal
representative of the patient, the health care facility, physician,
or health care personnel shall:

(i) refer the patient to, or

(ii) transfer the patient to, or

(iii) provide in writing information to the
patient about other health care providers who they reasonably
believe may offer the health care service the health care facility,
physician, or health personnel refuses to permit, perform, or
participate in because of a conscience-based objection.

(4) If requested by
the patient or the legal representative of the patient, the health
care facility, physician, or health care personnel shall provide
copies of medical records to the patient or to another health care
professional or health care facility designated by the
patient in accordance with Illinois law,
without undue delay.

Nothing in this Act shall be construed to
prevent a health care facility from requiring that physicians or
health care personnel working in the facility comply with access to
care and information protocols that comply with the provisions of
this Act.

Sec. 9. Liability.

(745 ILCS 70/9) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par.
5309)Sec. 9. Liability.

No person, association, or corporation, which owns, operates, supervises,
or manages a health care facility shall be civilly or criminally liable to
any person, estate, or public or private entity by reason of refusal of the
health care facility to permit or provide any particular form of health care
service which violates the facility's conscience as documented in its
ethical guidelines, mission statement, constitution, bylaws, articles of
incorporation, regulations, or other governing documents.

Nothing in this
act shall be construed so as to relieve a physician or other health care
personnel from obligations under the law of providing emergency medical
care. (Source: P.A. 90-246, eff. 1-1-98.) (745 ILCS 70/10)

No person, association, or corporation, which owns, operates,
supervises, or manages a health care facility shall be civilly or
criminally liable to any person, estate, or public or private entity
by reason of refusal of the health care facility to permit or
provide any particular form of health care service which violates
the facility's conscience as documented in its ethical guidelines,
mission statement, constitution, bylaws, articles of incorporation,
regulations, or other governing documents.

Nothing in this Act shall be
construed so as to relieve a physician, health care personnel,or a
health care facility from obligations under the law of
providing emergency medical care. (Source: P.A. 90-246, eff.
1-1-98.)